They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 41:30 (KJV)Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. Ephesians 6:13-14 (KJV)

“He’ll be different when he gets back home.” More than one made the same comment as word got around Ben had joined the Army.

“I don’t want Ben to change. I like Ben the way he is.” I didn’t speak the words for anyone to hear, but I would repeat them in my mind and in my heart, and make it a simple prayer from a loving Mom to her God. The Army would prepare him to be a soldier, pay for his education and send him to basic training. I was proud and sad at the same time. Proud of his desire to be part of the military and sad to see him have to face basic training without me there to watch it take place.

The house sounded empty without his warped sense of humor and spontaneous laugh. As his graduation date from basic training grew close, we counted down the days until we would see him again.

“Look at the way he walks, and he stands so straight.” That was my first reaction after I saw Ben in his military Class A’s.

“That is part of the military’s training,” my husband replied.

As I watched my boy, who was now a soldier, walk with the confidence of a warrior, the Lord quickened me. “Ben is ready for battle. He is prepared to fight the enemy. When the military calls him to go fight, he’ll be ready.”

“Yes, Lord, I understand that, but more than one said he would change. Has anything changed? He still looks the same, acts the same, and laughs the same.”

“What do you see different about him?”

“Two things: the way he walks and the way he stands.”

“Exactly,” was the one word I heard from the Lord. As I watched Ben eat his first Big Mac in three months, drink the biggest Coke McDonald’s sold, and enjoy the french fries, two scriptures came to mind: Having done all to stand…then stand…They shall walk, and not grow weary…"

Each of us as Christians are prepared to fight the enemy. Just as the US military prepares each soldier to go to war, we are prepared to war against the enemy. Don’t be discouraged when going through testing. It may be the only thing that needs to be changed is two things—the way you walk and the way you stand. When that is changed you are prepared to go against the enemy.

Dear Lord, may I be prepared to face whatever comes my way. May I be a trained solider in the Army of the Lord. Amen.

Thought: If times seem hard and you can't see the purpose in the endurance, remember that we need to know how to stand and how to walk. Those two things might be all that need to be changed.